Being Noticed
by btamamura
Summary: Poor Llama is always passed by at the zoo...but what if someone finally does take notice of him?


**Disclaimer: **_I do not own Shirokuma Cafe or the characters. If I did, Llama would receive more attention at work._

**Notes: **_**I've been having serious Llama feels lately, especially following the latest episode. The poor thing, he looked almost like he was going to start crying when Rin Rin went right past him and he'd had to call out to him.**_

_**Enjoy!**_

Day after day, Llama would always wait for someone to notice him. But, thanks to his area being right beside the considerably more interesting giraffes, it seemed as if it was never going to happen.

Even his friends simply walked past, not realising he's there until he calls out to them. He tried to keep a stiff upper-lip though, surely someday, someone will notice him.

But, even after reminders, it seemed everyone would just walk past him. He sighed as he munched on some grass. _I know that I can't provide as much service to the customers as every other animal can...but I would still like it if someone were to at least notice me. Just once..._ As he lifted his head, a tiny drop fell into the grass.

Another day passed, and more people to have ignored him. He'd considered talking to the zoo director about the problem of being overshadowed, but nothing could be done. He'd been given the option to resign, but he couldn't do that. The job helped provide all he needed to live; if he left his job, what would he have?

He greeted some of the other animals, including the young Panda who worked part-time, as he took his time card and clocked out. He quietly left the zoo, passing on a quick word of _see you tomorrow_ to Handa and Kirino. He decided he would pass up visiting Shirokuma Cafe that evening, not in the mood to see everyone.

The next day, he could feel something was going to be different. He had hope that it was finally the day that someone would actually notice him.

A young woman was standing by the giraffes' enclosure and watching in awe as they used their long tongues to grab leaves from the trees. She looked around, wondering where to go next.

Llama tried to not get his hopes up. No matter how hard someone would look, they'd never notice him unless he tried talking to them. It wasn't necessarily discouraged, just as long as he remembered he was at work and so couldn't spend all day talking.

The woman took one last glance and made her way to the next enclosure. She looked around and spotted the lone Llama standing near the fence at the other end. She smiled. "Llama-san?"

He thought he must be dreaming. Nobody had ever called to him before, zoo keepers not counted, of course.

She hurried to the other end and stood face to face with the animal. "Hello, Llama-san!"

"H-Hello..." He couldn't believe what was happening...a visitor was talking to him!

"It is very quiet here. Do you prefer the quiet?"

"It's not that...it's because nobody notices me."

"I can understand that feeling. It's just like when people exclude you from everything."

_She understands...?_

"You looked very lonely over here, so I thought I'd come and say hello. Plus, I want to see all of the animals here, so I always look carefully at each area to see if I'm missing someone."

He closed his eyes and bowed his head.

She was surprised to see wet streaks forming on his cheeks. "What's the matter?"

"I only wish that more who come here would do as you do. I wouldn't be passed by so often. Even my own friends tend to forget I'm here."

"That's really rough, Llama-san... Then...how about we become friends? That way, you'll always have a friend who knows where you are and will stop by to say hello every visit?"

"I'd like that. Very much."

"Great! Then, I'd better let you know my name. It's Tama. Tama-chan is fine."

"Tama-chan...it's nice to meet you." He tensed. "Oh! I'd better provide service! I don't get paid to stand around all day...well, not when people notice me..."

"What do you do for service?"

"Watch." He smiled. He turned around and walked to a grass patch, bowed down and started to eat it.

"I've never seen an animal graze before! That's amazing!"

He swallowed. "This is nothing compared to what Panda-kun does though."

"I saw, and while it is cute, it's still just playing around. I've seen it very often. But, as for your grazing, that was a first for me." She checked her watch. "Oh, I'm very sorry, Llama-san, but I need to get moving now. I wanna see all the animals before the zoo closes."

"It's alright. Thank you for stopping to see me. Oh!"

"What is it?"

"Have you heard of Shirokuma Cafe?"

"No..."

"Then, when the zoo closes, meet me by the gates. We can go together."

"I'd like that. See you later then, Llama-san!"

"See you, Tama-chan!"

Panda noticed something right away. "Llama-san, you seem really happy. Did something happen?"

Joukin Panda nodded in agreement as he clocked out. "There's something different about you this evening, Llama-kun."

"Someone finally stopped by and said hello to me. I didn't have to call them," Llama proudly declared.

"Ehh...that does sound pretty good."

"I promised to meet with her by the zoo gates after work, I'm taking her to Shirokuma Cafe."

"I'd like to meet her. Hey, hey! Did she say anything about how cute I was?" Panda asked.

"She mentioned that you were pretty cute while playing around."

"Really? She found me cute?"

Tama was waiting by the gates as promised. She waved when she caught sight of Llama. "Llama-san!"

He walked to her, a panda by his side. "I'm glad you're here, Tama-chan." He turned to Panda. "Panda-kun, this is Tama, she is the one who visited me today."

"Hi, nice to meet you, Tama-san," Panda greeted.

"Tama-chan is fine, Panda-kun. I saw you playing around today, it was very cute."

"More! Say more!"

She laughed quietly. "So, you're coming with us to the cafe?"

He nodded. "I go there every night after work. Shirokuma-kun always has bamboo and bamboo grass for me to eat."

"It sounds very accomodating then. Well, shall we be off?"

The three of them walked off, the woman between the two animals.

"Konbanwa, minna-san~!" Panda greeted as he walked through the doors, followed by Llama and Tama. "Llama-san has some good news!"

Shirokuma, Penguin and Sasako all turned to him. "Did something happen today?" Sasako asked kindly.

Llama smiled widely and nodded. He gestured to Tama. "Tama-chan came to visit me. She's the first visitor to have come to see me without my calling out."

"Tama-chan, is it? Welcome to Shirokuma Cafe."

"Thank you very much!" She turned to Llama. "Shall we find somewhere to sit?"

"How about at the counter near Penguin-san?" Llama suggested, already making his way there.

Drinks and food had been served up, and Penguin had ordered another cafe mocha. Tama had been introduced to Shirokuma's habit of making puns, but she just laughed and even retorted to one, surprising everyone else.

She turned to Llama. "You do have some very nice friends here. I'm glad you invited me to come with you."

"I'm glad you could make it," he responded before eating some of his grass platter.

"So, how exactly did you know that Llama was there? I mean, even I forget where he works at times," Penguin queried.

"When I plan on seeing all animals at the zoo, I mean all. I look carefully at each area to make sure I'm not missing anybody. Llama-san and I hit it off pretty quickly when we started talking. I could understand how lonely he was feeling," Tama explained.

"I realised I should be providing some service to her, but I don't really do anything special other than eat grass. But, she was impressed."

"I've never seen an animal graze at grass before, so it was a pretty amazing sight." She finished her hot chocolate and checked the time. "Oh, I'm afraid I must get going now..."

Llama quickly finished his grass platter and glass of water. "I'll escort you home then, Tama-chan."

"Thank you." She moved to get off her seat, Llama having already done so. She was stopped briefly.

Shirokuma smiled in a friendly manner. "We've never seen Llama-san so happy before, you have really made a difference by stopping to talk to him on your own volition today. Thank you for coming by the cafe, we do hope to see you again."

"Thank you, Shirokuma-san." She slid off the stool and was firmly standing on the ground. "Good night, minna-san!" She then turned to follow after Llama.

"I could hear what Shirokuma-san was saying to you before we left, and he's right. Lately, I was losing hope that anybody would stop by to see me. So...really...thank you."

"I'm glad I was able to make such a difference to you, Llama-san."

"You can address me as Llama-kun if you'd like. We are friends."

"Okay then." She continued walking. "I hope you receive more visitors to your area in the future. I'll come by as often as I can though, thankfully admission to the zoo isn't expensive."

"Just knowing you plan on seeing me again makes me happy." He paused in his steps and nudged her back lightly with his nose.

She looked back at him and saw he was smiling widely, his teeth showing. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck and felt him nuzzle her in return.

Day after day, Llama was passed over by many visitors. But, he no longer let it bother him. Because every other day, he'd have a special friend come to visit him. He'd even been granted permission to speak with her as long as he wanted, as it made him happy. Finally he knew what it felt like to have someone notice him.


End file.
